Greetings!
Thanksgiving in Houston
Cara gets her Master's degree
Ferry to Shelter Island
What would you give to have a picture
with both of your Great-grandmothers?!! (ages 1, 89 and 91)
Dave and Kylie
"Running for Answers" 5K in Philly
Dan in Colorado: Great Dunes National Park,
Garden of the Gods, Crested Butte bike park
Mike & Kathryn with Quinn
Hello and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Dear friends and family,
We send greetings and love to you this Christmas. We’d love it if you'd leave a comment below.
Where did 2011 go? It certainly came into Connecticut like a lion, and then just continued to roar with once-every-century-type events:
the snowiest, iciest winter on record (we could not extract the Christmas lights from the ice in the front bushes until March); a summer earthquake felt in NYC (and in our bedroom at home), followed a week week later by Hurricane Irene that took our power out for six days; and, a Noreaster in October that dropped 8” of snow and another extended power outage.
We've watched the year's events in the Middle East with great interest as we were living in Cairo when Sadat was assassinated and Mubarak first took power thirty years ago.
the snowiest, iciest winter on record (we could not extract the Christmas lights from the ice in the front bushes until March); a summer earthquake felt in NYC (and in our bedroom at home), followed a week week later by Hurricane Irene that took our power out for six days; and, a Noreaster in October that dropped 8” of snow and another extended power outage.
We've watched the year's events in the Middle East with great interest as we were living in Cairo when Sadat was assassinated and Mubarak first took power thirty years ago.
Amid these and other chaotic events in the world this year, here’s an update on what else was going on with the Whitings:
Bryan returned in August from his mission to Honduras. He is loving being back at BYU where he’s pursuing a major in statistics. We will miss writing a missionary after all of these years but love seeing our kids launched so well into life.
Dave’s big news is that he is engaged to be married in June to Kylie Nixon from North Ogden, Utah. If that isn’t enough big news, he has also been accepted to the University of Connecticut dental school for next fall, and is on the wait list at Columbia. Either way, it looks like we’re going to be lucky enough to have them close by for a few years! We love Kylie and are so happy that they found each other.
Dan continues to enjoy his job in the international marketing department of Baxa, a firm in Denver that develops and markets medical technology. They were recently taken over by Baxter, and Dan has happily survived the merger. Dan thrives on the healthy Colorado lifestyle and loves the hiking, snowboarding and mountain biking available all around.
Cara donned a Master’s hood in May as she completed her master’s degree in Applied History from George Mason University in Virginia. After completing an internship at the Smithsonian, she has continued her archival work in DC. To celebrate her graduation, she did a spring trip to Norway and Denmark with friends. Once again, we've enjoyed biking with her in her historic area: to Mount Vernon and through some civil war battlefields, and in the New Hampshire White Mountains this fall for part of a 60-miler she had put together with friends.
Mike & Kathryn and Quinn hosted us all for Thanksgiving in their new home outside of Houston in The Woodlands, Texas. They moved there in August with Mike’s new job in treasury management with JP Morgan Chase. Kathryn is a busy, creative stay-at-home mom keeping up with Quinn who is now 15 months and toddling at the speed of light. Quinn was a big hit with all the family and we loved the time we all had together in sunny Houston.
Jeanne & Steve continued to explore on bike the sites that we’ve been so close to for years but have never seen, like Shelter Island on Long Island and Block Island in R.I. And then there’s always a lovely seashore to explore within minutes of our house in many directions. Of all the places we’ve thought about for retirement, we just can’t imagine anywhere we’d rather live more than here. But Steve figures he has several years left so we’re procrastinating that decision. The credit crisis continues to keep him well employed. He’s still in the bishopric, and Jeanne is working with the Beehives in Young Women. We saw our New Canaan ward divided for the first time in the 17 years we’ve lived here. There has been lots of change, but the important things stay the same. And you all are so important to us.
We send warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Jeanne & Steve
176 Gerdes Road, New Canaan CT 06840
It sounds like you have had an exciting year! We are in Michigan still and Jacob will finish law school this coming year and take the bar exam, and is keeping busy in school and with his calling as Ward Clerk. I am still working as a CPA with a local accounting firm in the area and enjoying my calling in the nursery.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne High
Oh, thank you so much for the update! We love your family and miss you all.
ReplyDeleteLove,
David and Stephanie Young and family
Nice way to share an update. Thanks. With all the one-time events and chaos in the world, I assume you've read The Black Swan?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanne and Steve..Good to see you both at the Saunders and also seeing Don & Mary Anne. Pics are great of you and your kids...They do grow up all too soon. Have a wonderful Christmas! Brian & Glenda
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Christmas update, Steve & Jeanne! Thanks for tracking down our email addresses and staying in touch. Your family looks wonderful and are involved in so many good things. What a great life. Ask Mike and Kathryn if they have met Greg and Holly Wilson in The Woodlands. They are old friends from Orem. We'll hope for an opportunity to see you in person sometime soon. Happy New Year! Love, John & Ann Lewis
ReplyDelete